Black-out flashlight



when# March 13, 1956 l.. A. POPE u 2,738,415

BLACK-OUT FLASHLIGHT Filed March 24, 1953 ,47m/mary United States Patenti() BLACK-OUT FLASI-ILIGHT Louis A. Pope, Melrose, Mass.

Application March 24, 1953, Serial No. 344,369

3 Claims. (Cl. 240-10.6)

This invention relates to a black-out flashlight, and has for one of its objects to provide a novel flashlight from which light can be projected only when the flashlight is held in a position pointing downwardly, the light from the flashlight bulb being entirely obscured when the flashlight is held in any other position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel black-out accessory which can be easily installed in any ordinary flashlight thereby converting it into a flashlight for black-out use, said accessory being so constructed that it can be readily removed from the flashlight when it is not desired to use the flashlight for black-out purposes.

Further objects of the invention are to provide improvements in black-out flashlights which will be hereafter more fully set forth yand pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view of a flashlight which emobdies my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view through the bulb end of the flashlight illustrating the flashlight in a vertical position pointing upwardly and showing the flashlight accessory in its operative position in which it completely obscures the light bulb.

Fig. 3 is a similar sectional view showing the flashlight in inverted position when the block-out accessory is in its inoperative position in which light is permitted to be projected from the reflector.

Fig. 4 is a similar sectional View illustrating the flashlight in a horizontal position and showing the black-out accessory in operative position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view illustrating a different embodiment of the invention from that shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4.

Fig. 6 shows another embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 7 shows an embodiment of the invention with the screen omitted.

In the drawings, 1 indicates generally a flashlight which comprises the usual casing 2 in which is mounted the usual reflector 3 carrying the socket 4 in which is mounted the bulb 5. 7 indicates a portion of one of the batteries, the terminal 6 of which engages the terminal of the bulb 5, as usual in flashlights. The reflector 3 is provided at its outer end with a laterally extending flange 8 that rests against the neck 13 of the casing 2, and said reflector is held in place by the glass 10 which is confined in position by the usual ring 11 having a neck 12 that is screw threaded to the wall portion 13 of the casing 2. The glass 10 is shown as carrying a rubber gasket 22 at its periphery.

The parts thus far described are such as are usually found in ordinary flashlights and form no part of my present invention.

The black-out feature of the invention includes a cap shaped hood member 14 of a size to enclose the bulb 5, said hood member being formed at its edge with a flange 15 which has the same contour as the reflector 3 and is adapted to fit tightly against the inside of the reflector,

Patented Mar. 13, 1956 as shown in Fig. 2. The black-out device may also include a screen member 16 which is located between the reflector 3 and the glass 10 and which has a central opening 17 of a size to receive the hood 14. l

When the flashlight is held in a vertical position pointing upwardly, as shown in Fig. 2, the weight of the hood 14 holds it in its operative closed position with its flange 15 resting against the reflector 3. In this position of the hood the bulb 5 is enclosed in a light-tight chamber formed by the hood and the lower end of the reflector, and hence no light from the bulb can be projected from the flashlight. In other words, in this position of the parts the light from the bulb is entirely obscured.

When the flashlight is turned into a position pointing downwardly, as shown in Fig. 3, the hood 14 will gravitate downwardly into its inoperative open position with the outer edges of the flange 15 resting against the screen 16. In this position there is provided a passage 18 between the reflector and the flange 15 through which light will be projected.

Inasmuch as for black-out use it is desirable that only a subdued light should be projected from the flashlight under any condition, I may make the screen 16 of translucent material which will allow a certain amount of light to pass therethrough. This screen 16 may be made of any suitable material and may be a colored screen, if desired. If it has a red, or any other, color then when the flashlight is held in its inverted position a subdued colored light will be projected from the screen. While I prefer a screen made of translucent material, yet a transparent screen may be used without departing from the invention. The light which is projected through a transparent screen will be of greater intensity than that projected through a translucent screen, and hence the question as to whether a transparent or translucent screen shall be used depends on the degree of the light intensity which it is desired that the flashlight should deliver.

In using the flashlight it is desirable that when the position of the flashlight is changed from an inverted position, shown in Fig. 3, to an upright position, shown in Fig. 2, the hood 14 should become operative to obscure the light at least by the time that the flashlight has assumed a horizontal position, shown in Fig. 4, in its movement from an inverted vertical position to an upright vertical position.

For this purpose I propose to use a light spring which acts against the hood and tends normally to hold the hood in its operative closed position. This spring, however, is

not strong enough to support the weight of the hood 14 so that when the flashlight is turned into its inverted position, shown in Fig. 3, the action of gravity on the hood overcomes the spring and holds the hood in its inoperative open position against the action of the spring.

In the construction shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, said spring is a light coil spring 19 which encircles the body of the hood 14, and is confined between the flange 15 thereof and the screen 16, said spring, as stated above, having insufficient strength to support the weight of the hood when the flashlight is held in inverted position, as seen in Fig. 3, and therefore when in such position the hood is held by gravity in its inoperative position.

When, however', the flashlight is being moved from its inverted position into its upright position, the spring will have sufllcient strength to move the hood 14 from its open to its closed position by the time that the flashlight has been brought into a horizontal position, because at such time the spring is relieved of the weight of the hood 14 and its full power is thus available for moving the hood from its open to its closed position.

It is not essential that a screen should be used because a satisfactory black-out accessory may be provided even though the screen is omitted, as shown in Fig. 7. In such case the hood 14a may be made slightly longer than is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 and its opening movement will be limited by its contact with the glass 10, as illustrated in Fig. 7. It will be noted that the dimension of the hook 14a and the bulb 5 are such that even when the hood is in its open inoperative position the bulb will still be partly inserted thereinto and hence the bulb will prevent the hood from being laterally displaced so that when the flashlight is turned from its inverted position into its upright position the hood will drop into its correct operative position.

lf a spring 19a is used in the embodiment shown in Fig. 7 said spring may be long enough to extend from the flange 7a of the hood to the glass 1li.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a different embodiment of the invention in which the Weak spring is in the form of spring lingers 21 mounted on the rear face of the screen 16 and operating against the front face of the flange 15 of the hood 14. These springs 21 are very light springs and do not have sufficient strength to support the weight of the hood when the ashlight is held in a position pointing downwardly, as shown in full lines Fig. 5, but when in the movement of the flashlight from its inverted position into its upright position the ilashlight reaches a midposition in which the springs do not support the weight of the hood, then such springs become operative to move the hood from its open position shown in full lines Fig. 5 into its closed position shown in dotted lines. It will thus be seen that I have provided a gravity-controlled blackout feature which is constructed so that when the ashlight is held in a vertical position the hood is held closed by gravity, thus obscuring the light, while when the flashlight is held in an inverted position the hood will be held by gravity in its operative position to allow projection of subdued light from the bulb.

in Fig. 6 there is shown a different embodiment of the invention in which the light spring means is in the form of leaf springs 23 which are secured to the outside of the screen 1.6 and bear against the end of the hood.

It will be noted that the body of the hood has a conical shape. An advantage of this construction is that when the position of the ashlight is being shifted from an inverted position, shown in Fig. 3, to an upright position, shown in Fig. 2, and the llashlight approaches a horizontal position the inclined or conical shape ot the hood body tends to assist the movement of the hood from its open to its closed position because even when the flashlight is in a horizontal position the action of gravity on the hood will tend to move it inwardly, such movement being augmented by the action of the light spring.

inasmuch as the black-out feature of the device consists of the hood 14 and the light spring, either with or without the screen, it will be evident that these parts can be easily installed in any ashlight, thus converting it from an ordinary flashlight to one designed for black-out use. Furthermore these blacleout accessories can easily be removed from the flashlight when its use as a blackout flashlight is no longer desired.

I claim:

l. In a black-out flashlight, the combination with a casing having a glass at its forward end, a light bulb in the casing and a reflector for reflecting light from the bulb through the glass, of a gravity-controlled cap-shaped hood member situated between the reflector and the glass and capable of movement toward and from the reflector between an operative closed position in which the edge portion of the hood member engages the rellector and forms therewith a light-tight chamber entirely enclosing the bulb and an inoperative open position in which the edge portion of the hood is spaced from the retlector, thereby producing a light-transmitting passage through which light from the bulb is transmitted for projection through the glass, spring means acting on the hood and tending to move it into its operative closed position, said spring means having insufficient strength to support the weight of the hood, whereby when the tlashlight is held in an inverted position the weight of the hood overcomes the resistance or the spring means and said hood moves by gravity into its open inoperative position, said spring means, when relieved of the weight of the hood by the turning of the ashlight into a substantially horizontal position, becoming operative to move the hood into its operative closed position and the hood being held by gravity and the action of the spring in said closed operative position when the flashlight is pointing upwardly.

2. A black-out ashlight as delined in claim 1 in which the hood has a marginal flange presenting a contour corresponding to that of the reflector which rests against the rellector and makes a light tight joint therewith when the hood is in its operative closed position.

3. A black-out flashlight as defined in claim 1 and which includes a translucent light-reducing screen member situated between the glass and the reliector and having an opening through which the hood projects, said screen serving to reduce the intensity of the light projected through the glass when the hood is in its operative open position, and also serving to guide the hood in its movement between its operative and its inoperative positions, said ange cooperating with the screen to limit the opening movement of the hood.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,522,696 Nosal Jan. 13, 1925 1,607,334 Arbuckle et al. Nov. 16, 1926 2,347,531 Yardeny Apr. 25, 1944 

